Q&A with Merrie Mill Farm and Vineyard
My fiancé’s family is from Roanoke, so every time we drive back home to Richmond from there, I like to make a pitstop at a winery along the way because…wine not?? This past Sunday was also Father’s Day, and since my dad was with us, it seemed like the perfect time to check out Merrie Mill Farm and Vineyard, especially since I had been in touch with one of the owners, Elizabeth. They just opened at the end of May, and have already become a must see destination in Keswick!
I absolutely love Keswick, it’s such a beautiful area, and from the moment you drive up the gravel road towards the Merrie Mill tasting room, you can feel that you’re about to enter a very thoughtful winery experience, full of intentional and well designed details. I wasn’t able to spend much time there, so I’m looking forward to many more visits so I can dive more into the wines (especially when the first batch of their own Merrie Mill brand comes out, right now they’re serving True Heritage).
While I was there, my dad managed to climb a statue we thought was a giant tree trunk LOL (hope that was allowed haha). And I must say that I highly recommend adding a veggie platter with their delicious garlic hummus to your wine order when you visit! Check out below my Q&A with Elizabeth to learn more about Merrie Mill and their journey to opening their winery!
How did Merrie Mill Farm and Vineyard get started?
It all started with a wedding (not ours!) in Keswick 3 years ago. My husband fell in love with the area. It is very reminiscent of the English countryside where he grew up. We were living in London at the time, and he was transitioning from his former career in pubs and nightclubs. As soon as we got back from our trip to Virginia, he started looking for property in Keswick. I thought he was crazy. He found Merrie Mill Farm online, came to visit, had the soil tested…we put in an offer (plus a lot of other little steps in between) and here we are less than 3 years later….still thinking it is a little crazy! We both have history in hospitality so it felt right to open our property and welcome people to enjoy what we have created.
What was the biggest challenge in getting started?
We started the whole process while still living abroad which was a challenge. I had only seen the farm 2 times before we uprooted our family and made the international move. We lived in a small guest cottage on the farm while we renovated our house and we had another baby so there was not a lot of downtime! The learning curve was also incredibly steep. Neither Guy nor I have experience with farming or agriculture and, aside from drinking it, limited knowledge on wine.
How did you guys learn about wine and viticulture at the beginning of your wine journey?
Photographer: Kate Thompson @bettyclicker
We started out with an intense wine course at Christie’s in London. Here we learned the basics of viticulture and wine making while exploring flavor notes, food pairings and wine from all over the world. Once we landed in Virginia, we promptly found a vineyard management consultant and business consultant. Two individuals who have been in the Virginia wine industry for decades. Their guidance and knowledge has been invaluable.
How did you guys decide which grapes to plant?
Our vineyard management consultant played a big role here. There are many things that go into consideration when deciding which grapes to grow and where, two being elevation and soil. We have a very rare and special soil called Manteo. Without getting too technical, this soil is rocky and doesn't retain water. This is good for grapevines as they do not like to sit in water and this is good for grapes as there is a more intense flavor created when they do not have too much water. We planted most of our varietals on the acreage with the Manteo soil, including Cabernet Sauvignon which typically does not grow well in Virginia but with our soil we are giving it a go!
How did you select which wines to serve before you start having your own wine?
Luckily we have a great relationship with our neighbors down the road here in Keswick. They started a wine brand called True Heritage a few years ago. We are able to sell their wine until we have our Merrie Mill Brand ready to share with you. Their vineyard is about 2 miles down the road so it really could not be closer and we feel their wine is a wonderful example of what Keswick can offer.
What is the biggest day to day challenge in managing a vineyard and winery?
For the vineyard: Mother nature! We lost our first crop to a devastating frost very last in the season 2020. Most vineyards we know suffered but it was a hard blow in our first year. Luckily the vines just became stronger and will produce better fruit for us this year. We installed wind machines this year which saved a decent amount of our crop from another late frost this spring.
For the tasting room: we are really lucky with our timing that we are coming out the other end of COVID. We made all the necessary adjustments and continue to stay on top of what the guidelines are daily, but we feel lucky that things are shifting to more normal. We work daily on getting the word out that we are open and welcoming guests. We rely heavily on PR strategies, social media, and good old fashioned word of mouth!
What was the tasting room interior design process like? What was the driving inspiration?
I designed the tasting room (both architecturally and decoratively) to feel like a home. I have seen several lovely tasting rooms with a lot wood in more of a converted barn style and I wanted to do something that set us apart. To break the mold. I already had several old beautiful farm/barn buildings on my property so I did not need to build another. Instead I built a place that feels like you are walking into someone’s personal home. I used eclectic furnishings both modern and old, personal artwork and lots of color, pattern and texture to create a maximalist wonderland. There is a lot to look at…I took a lot of inspiration from old wunderkammer and cabinets of curiosity.
Photos by Kate Thompson @bettyclicker
What’s unique about the wine industry in Virginia?
We feel we have come into the Virginia wine world at a pretty good time. We are not reinventing the wheel. Many have come before us and solved some of the climate issues and growing obstacles where we are, so we are able to benefit greatly from that knowledge. But the industry is still fairly new so there is a lot of growth potential and exciting ways we can do things differently and contribute to the industry. We have also found the community here to be incredibly welcoming. We never got the feeling anyone looked at us, a new winery, as competition but rather took on the feeling of “a rising tide lifts all boats.” It is a kind of “the more wonderful places to visit in Charlottesville, the better” mentality. We asked for advice and leaned on our colleagues across the industry and have really appreciated that.
What is your advice for someone wanting to start a business in the wine industry?
Number one piece of advice is: if you don’t have your own knowledge, find someone who does and learn from them. We would not be where we are today if we tried to do it all on our own! And be patient. Patient with farming, mother nature, building, branding, wine making, it all takes time, effort and patience.
What is next for Merrie Mill Farm and Vineyard in the next few days/months/years?
In the next few days, we are focused on finding more ways to engage people and get them to visit. We are exploring some options to potentially stay open later one night a month with live music. In the next few months, we are brainstorming interesting ideas for the winter months rather than just accepting that winter is a slow time. We are also gearing up to make our own 2021 vintage wine for consumption next year which is really so exciting!
In the coming years, we will continue to keep our business fresh and exciting potentially welcoming people for tours in the vineyard to learn more about our grapes and soil. We are not the type to be complacent - we want to keep doing and engaging and finding fun news ways to welcome people.